There are, as with any profession good and bad.

Here in the UK many dog owners have insurance for their pets, so that we can give our pets the best medical attention we can in times of need. Though insurance is getting more expensive, with the more advanced medical facilities that are now avaliable for our pets.

What really gets me is when you go to see a vet and the first question asked, before what is wrong with your dog/pet, is do you have insurance? Why, are they going to advise lots of needless tests for my pet, or is it just to make sure that the huge bill that I will later be presented with, can be paid!

Shortly after moving to this region of the UK, 2 1/2 years ago, my beloved Golden Retriever became ill. I registered with a vet local to me, and of course the first question was, was he insured. I had not renewed the insurance a couple of years before that, because the premiums were getting so expensive, and both my dogs had been really healthy. Anyway this vet couldn't make a diagnosis anyway, she was newly qualified, so took a photo of the problem (turned out to be skin cancer and Lymphoma), but said that she would ask colleagues if they could make a diagnosis from a photo. Needless to say I was not happy with that, especially when they came back with what turned out to be totally innacurate information, lots of expensive tests to be done and thought that for good measure I should also have my dog castrated!

I found a wonderful homeopathic vet, some 20 miles away, who was brilliant. He didn't advise me do have treatments that he knew wouldn't work, and even managed to 'lose' the bill for the lab tests that were done, when he found out Rudi wasn't insured. He knew that what my lovely boy had was incurable, and gave both of us the best treatment both homeopathically and conventially that he could. When shortly afterwards the time came to let my boy go, it was done with the utmost sympathy.

Afterwards we waited with baited breath for the bill, which also included cremation, a casket, x-rays, drip, and other treatments. We were not overcharged in any way, and in fact it was all far cheaper than when we had lost my other lovely lad, just a year before in similar circumstances, but with another vet in our old area.

I think that we can all take time to do things that can help our dogs to lead as healthy a life as possible, and I would say that teeth cleaning, nail clipping, and keeping ears cleaned and checking your dog over regularly for lumps and bumps go a good way to avoiding needless vet bills. Also feeding a healthy diet, and not buying the cheapest on the supermarket shelves. It may not help when there are genetic problems, as turned out to be the case with my two boys, but doing the best we can to keep our dogs healthy ourselves must go a long way to keeping vet bills down, and hopefully allowing our beloved dogs/pets to lead long and healthy lives.

Jan